Product Mix
Develop strategic focuses from SWOT Analysis.
A widely used framework for organizing and utilizing the pieces of data and information gained from the situation analysis Encompasses both internal and external environments One of the most effective tools in the analysis of environmental data and information The assessment of strengths and weakness must look beyond the firm's resources and product offerings to examine processes that meet customers' needs. This entails offering solutions to customers' problems, rather than specific products. Achieving goals and objectives depends on creating capabilities by matching strengths with market opportunities. Weaknesses can be converted into strengths with strategic investment. Threats can be converted into opportunities with the right resources. Weaknesses that cannot be converted become limitations which must be minimized if obvious or meaningful to customers or other stakeholders.
Types of objectives
Competitive advantages can arise from many internal and external sources (see Exhibit 5.7). Competitive advantages refer to real differences between competing firms. Competitive advantages can also be based more on perception than reality. Capabilities or competitive advantages that do not translate into specific benefits for customers are of little use to a firm.
Strategy canvas
Identifies factors that the industry currently competes on and what customers receive from existing product offerings (captured by the horizontal axis) Identifies the offering level received by buyers for each factor (captured by the vertical axis) High levels mean that a company invests more and offers buyers more of that factor. Identifies a company's relative performance across its industry's factors of competition (captured by the value curve)
Porter's 3 generic strategies to build competitive advantages.
Operational Excellence Focus on efficiency of operations and processes Lower cost operations lead to lower prices for customers Product Leadership Excellence in technology and product development Most advanced, highest quality product offering in the industry Customer Intimacy Understand customers better than the competition Develop long-term customer relationships
Blue Ocean's four actions framework
Which factors that the industry takes for granted should be eliminated? These factors may no longer have value for buyers. Which factors should be reduced well below the industry's standard? Have products been over designed in a race to beat competition? Which factors should be raised well above the industry's standard? Has the industry forced customers to make compromises? Which factors should be created that the industry has never offered? What are the potential new sources of value for buyers?
Main benefits for having the width and depth
The product breadth is the number of product lines, while the product depth is the variety within each of those lines. These two elements combine to make up the store's product assortment or merchandise mix. Specialty retailers will likely have a smaller product breadth than a general merchandise store. This is because their products have a narrower focus and specific niches. However, they may have an equal, if not wider, product depth if they choose to stock a greater variety of each product line.
Product mix width and depth
Width : Number of different product lines carries by the company. Length : Total Number of items in the product line. Depth : Number of version offered of each product in the line. Consistency : Closely related the various product lines.
Four post-purchase states
delight, satisfaction (or positive indifference), acceptance (or negative indifference) and dissatisfaction. These four states may lead onto affective action—ie varying degrees of complaining or complimenting behaviour.
